Playing-card



(No Model.)

, 2 SheetsSheet 1. S. T. VARIAN.

PLAYING CARDS. No. 499,406. Patented June 13, 1893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

SAMUEL T. VARIAN, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PLAYING-CARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,406, dated June 13, 1893.

Application filed November 8,1892. Serial No. 451,307. No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL T. VARIAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Playing-Cards, of which the following is a specification.

Playing cards have heretofore been made on which there are marks or indicators in miniature upon the faces of the cards and near the corners thereof to denote the cards, and these indicators have also been accompanied by numbers or letters, or both, to facilitate the acquisition of the knowledge necessary in playing a game at cards.

The present improvement is especially adapted to imparting the knowledge necessary for properly playing the game at cards called whist; and in carrying out this invention I apply to the margins of the facesof the cards or to the backs of the cards, or to both, small square or oblong figures with letters or figures to represent and denote miniature cards. At the corners of these miniature cards are marks to indicate the first and successive cards to be played by the leader or by the second, third or fourth player when holding the same combination of cards of one suit, that is to say, a mark at the upper left hand corner of a card indicates a particular card to be led first; another mark at the upper left hand corner of another card indicates the card that is to be led by the same player in the second round of the same suit; and the mark at the second or upper right hand corner, indicates the card ordinarily played by the second player when holding this combination of cards, if the suit is first led by the opponent at his right; and the mark at the third or lower right corner indicates the card ordinarily played to a partners lead. The fourth or lower left corner can have marks to indicate the plays of the last of the four players. By this arrangement a novice can refer to the small squares, or miniature cards, around the border of the cards or upon the backs thereof to ascertain which are the proper cards to be played in leading or to be played to cards led, of a plainsuit or of the trump suit, by his partner or by either opponent.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents the face of an ace of diamonds, and Fig. 2 represents a series of squares and their accompanying designating marks that may beapplied to the backs of the cards as an indicator or means of informing the player of the proper or best cards to be led by the elder hand or to be played as second, third or fourth player from certain combinations of cards of one suit. Fig. 3. illustrates the manner of leading. Fig. 4. shows the order of play. Fig. 5. shows the positions of the players. Figs. 6. 7. 8. 9. and 10. illustrate the different plays.

It is to be understood that the arrangement of the dots or marks used in connection with the squares may be varied upon any given or predetermined plan; Ihave found it convenient to arrange these marks in the following manner: At the angles of the squares dots or other marks are applied. The marks outside the angles indicate the leads or plays of the cards in plain suits, and the dots inside the angles of the square indicate the leads and plays of trumps by the different players or the color of the dots or marks may be different; in black for plain suit and red for trumps. The upper left hand corner is indicative of the leader, the upper right corner the second hand, the lower right corner the third hand, and the lower left corner the fourth hand, and the letter or number applied within the square is illustrative of the face denomination or value of a card of either suit. Thus A would indicate an ace,K a king,Q a queen,J a jack, 10 and 9 representing the spots on the face of the card, and other small figures, or an X, representing cards of a suit lower than the nine, viz. from the eight to the deuce inclusive.

The spots or marks at the angles of the squares are adapted to give the proper information for instance, if a ten spot is to be led, it is so indicated by one dot or mark at the upper left hand corner, but two marks outside the upper left hand corner indicate that ten should be led in the second round of the suit instead of the first round. One dot outside the upper right hand corner indicates that the player of the second hand should play that card in the first round of that suit when the suit is first led by the opponent at his right. One dot outside the lower right hand corner indicates that the player of the third hand should playthat card in the first round of the suit when led by his partner.

The fourth hand in a round of a suit ordinarily plays low if his partner has played a winning card, or otherwise he plays a higher card,if possible, than the highest card played by either opponent; or if he has none of the suit he discards one of another plain suit, or trumps the trick as he may prefer.

The dots and marks upon the squares shown in Fig. 2, indicate generally the leads and plays approved by good players for the instruction of those not conversant with the game, and upon reference to Fig. 1 it will be found that similar marks are applied around the small squares upon the face of the card, and as before suggested these dots or marks are applied upon a prearranged plan and according to instructions furnished to the player, and these will indicate different subject matter according to the game that is being played.

The number of combinations is so great that all the conditions cannot be represented, especially on one card. The various combinations of the principal cards are represented. For instance, on the borders of the four aces, the combinations relating to aces are shown, and on the borders of the four kings the combinations relating to kings are shown and so on with queens and jacks, tens and nines. The minor combinations do not require to be shown. I remark that it is sometimes desired to have the principal combinations such as before set forth, repeated on the backs of the cards so that they can be learned or examined either on the faces or on the backs, but it is often preferred to have the backs plain or free from any marks that might betray the face values. for thereception of the quadrangular figure and the indicating marks the same combinations may appear on more than one card, for the convenience of the different players.

In playing the game at cards called whist, the player to the left of the dealer leads in the first round; the winner of each trick becoming the leader in the subsequent round.

In giving instructions as to the mode of playing from certain combinations, it is necessary to inform a player how he should lead from a number of cards of one suit, or play to it as second, third or fourth hand, either in plain suits or in trumps, when led first by another player. It is hardly possible to anticipate the correct play of each of thirteen cards in one players hand; the essential plays are in the first two rounds of a suit and the general plays in these can be fairly indicated.

In many cases trumps are played differently.

from plain suits. In plain suits, ace would be led first from ace, nine, seven, six, five; but

When both faces and backs are used in trumps the six would be led first, as illustrated in Fig. 3. To indicate the plays, not the players, in plain suits, one dot, two dots or three dots are used outside the respective corners of the miniature card and similar characters or dots inside the respective corners for trump plays. The upper left hand corner is used to represent the play of first hand or leader; the upper right hand corner represents the second player, the lower right hand corner the third player and the lower left hand corner the fourth player in the same way that the four sides of a table would indicate the positions of four players, partners being-opposite, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The conventional plays at whist are certain recognized methods, approved by the best authorities, to impart information to a partner. An original lead of ace is never from less than five cards of a suit without both queen and jack. A player holding ace, queen, jack and tray of one suit may lead from this combination, or if his right hand opponent first leads from this suit, he would become second player, or third player when his partner leads this suit, or fourth player when his left hand opponent leads this suit, hence the necessity of indicating on one suit the certainty of one player being either first, second, third or fourth player in that suit. Suppose A, (Fig. 5,) holds ace, queen, jack and tray of hearts; when A. opens the heart suit his plays are indicated as first .hand. \Vhen D. opens the heart suit As plays are indicated as second hand. When 0. opens the heart suit As plays are indicated as third hand. When B, opens the heart suit, As plays are indicated as fourth hand. The leads are indicated as follows.:Ace first, then queen, which leads show jack and one other of suit remaining, as indicated in Fig.6. The second hand plays on low cards led, would be jack first, then queen, as indicated in Fig. 7. On partners leads of low cards third hand would play jack, then queen, unless second hand should play king, when the play of ace would be apparent, on king played by an opponent, as indicated inFig. 8. Fourth band plays the lowest card that will take the trick if not already won by his partner. Ifthird hand plays the king, fourth hand can win only with ace in the first round. If second hand has played king, his partner, fourth band, would play the tray on the king, as indicated by Fig. 9. These plays are based on the supposition that a suit will usually go around twice before it is trumped, as indicated in Fig. 10.

I claim as my invention- 1. On a pack of playing cards a series of quadrangular figures each containing a letter or number denoting the card referred to, and marks applied outside and inside the respective squares, preferably at the corners, to indicate the leads from a certain combination of cards of one suit and the proper play from the same combination when the player is dicating the plays from trumps, substantially either the second, third or fourth player -inas set forth. 7 1o stead of the leader, substantially as set forth. Signed by me this 5th day of November,

2. A pack of cards having upon their faces 1892.

the usual marks, and small quadrangular fig- SAMUEL T. VARIAN. ures printed upon each card, and marks out- Witnesses:

' side the angles indicating the plays from WILLIAM G. MOTT,

plain suits, and marks within the angles in- A. M. OLIVER. 

